[11] PACE delegation express concern about the fairness in the
Presidential election in Turkey

[13] The Felicity Party in Turkey will not support any of the candidates

[01] The Turkish so-called embassy in the occupied part of Nicosia
publishes the regime's "Economic Situation Report" for 2013

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.07.14) reports that
the so-called embassy of Turkey in the occupied part of Nicosia has
published the breakaway regime's "2013 Economic Situation Report". In his
presentation article in the report, the Turkish so-called ambassador,
Halil Ibrahim Akca said that it is absolutely urgent to complete the
reforms in the sectors put forward in the program so that the "TRNC's", as
he called the breakaway regime, economic growth to speed up and prosperity
to increase. Otherwise, he argued, the difference with Turkey will grow
and the regime will lose the opportunity to catch up with the "south
Cyprus Greek administration", as he describes the Republic of Cyprus,
which "has carried out some important fundamental arrangements for the
future by making structural reforms more quickly in spite of the fact
that it had entered into crisis".

Akca said that looking for additional cash from Turkey instead of creating
new resources in the occupied area of Cyprus has pushed the relations
of the regime with Turkey into an unhealthy basis. He noted that the
programs, which have adopted during the past years in the economic
relations between Turkey and the breakaway regime, started becoming
"an institution". He argued that thanks to the programs prepared every
three years, the sides know and see their responsibilities better.

Akca said that during 2013, the first year of the implementation of
the current program, three "governments" changed in the occupied area
of Cyprus and important progress has been achieved on the issue of
the reforms. He noted that no concessions were given in the financial
discipline and the private sector continued to develop. Especially the
sectors of tourism and education, he added, have overtaken the burden
of the economy and significantly contributed in the positive growth of
the economy, in spite of the important shrinking of agriculture.

According to the report, the GDP in current prices increased to seven
million 882 thousand Turkish liras (TL) in 2013 from five million 376
thousand TL in 2009 or to four million 107 thousand dollars from three
million 477 thousand dollars. The real growth had been -5% in 2009 and
increased to +2% in 2013. Inflation, however, increased to 10.2% in 2013
from 5.7% in 2009. The budget deficit, which had been 622 million TL in
2009, decreased to 411 million TL in 2013.

The report writes also that the population in the occupied area of
Cyprus, which had been 283 thousand and 736 persons in 2009, increased
to 286 thousand and 257 persons in 2013. The unemployment rate had
been 12.4% in 2009 (101 thousand and 181 persons) and decreased to 9.7%
(or 91 thousand 550 persons) in 2013.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Akca says that 90 thousand Turkish voters exist in the occupied
part of Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the Turkish
so-called ambassador in the occupied part of Nicosia, Halil Ibrahim Akca
said yesterday that about 90 thousand persons in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus have the right to vote in the Presidential Elections
which will be held in Turkey on 10 August.

Speaking at a press conference, Akca noted that during the past elections
they had established ballot boxes at the customs gates, but this has been
proved to be difficult for the voters and the turnout was low. Akca said
now they have decided to place ballot boxes in countries where adequate
number of voters exists.

Akca added that, according to the latest register study, around 90
thousand Turkish voters exist in the occupied area of Cyprus. He noted
that a big part of these voters are students, another part are those
who work in the occupied area having "work permit" or possess "double
citizenship", that is, they also have the "citizenship" of the breakaway
regime.

Furthermore, Akca gave information to the voters on how they could
exercise their right to vote.

Meanwhile, commenting on Akca's statements, Turkish Cypriot Afrika
newspaper (24.07.14) wonders whether these 90 thousand persons have the
right to vote in the "elections" held in the occupied area of Cyprus as
well. Under the title "They will first elect the President in Turkey
and afterwards our president", the paper notes that if this number is
valid for the Turkish Cypriot so-called elections as well, this means
that the Turkish settlers are more than the Turkish Cypriots. "Anyway,
no presentable classification was ever made on this issue", points
out Afrika noting that during the last "elections" around 175 thousand
persons had the right to "vote".

Noting that according to estimations by the Greek Cypriots, the
number of the Turkish Cypriots is 80 thousand persons, the paper
concludes as following: "Our community has from time immemorial been
referred to as being 120 thousands. It seems that the situation has not
changed too much. However, now it is definite that we are not even 120
thousands. Those having double citizenship will elect the President of the
Republic of Turkey. Next year they will elect our president. Wonderful!"

(I/Ts.)

[03] Ozersay: The issue of guarantees should be discussed during a
meeting with the guarantor states

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi Daily News (online,
24.07.14), the Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozeray said that the
two sides completed the proposal submission during yesterday's meeting.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Ozersay said that both Turkish
Cypriot and Greek Cypriot negotiating teams did whatever it was necessary
and that the issue of guarantees would be discussed during a meeting
where the guarantor states will also be present. According to Ozersay,
the UN Security Council is in no position to make decisions therefore
the guarantors and the Cypriot leaders should meet and negotiate the
issue of guarantees.

During the meeting, which lasted around 5 hours, the Turkish Cypriot side
submitted a proposal on economy, land arrangement and EU affairs while
the Greek Cypriot side submitted the written version of their proposals
on security and guarantees.

Ozersay said that economists from both sides were also present during
the meeting where the two negotiators discussed the "land" issues,
however, they didn't touch "map and numbers" as agreed during their
earlier meetings.

He also noted that the next phase of the negotiations will be decided
by the leaders. "The evaluation of the current phase that is almost
finalized will be done by the two leaders. After tomorrow's meeting the
leaders will have some political decisions to make in order to determine
the nature of the next phase", said Ozersay.

Speaking upon a question regarding the issue of guarantees, Ozersay
said that "looking at all the violence in some parts of the world and
considering the state of international relations anyone can see that the
UN Security Council is no longer an effective decision making organ. If
a decision on guarantee systems is left to the UN Security Council, this
will not mean anything for the Turkish Cypriots". Ozersay added that
guarantees should be discussed during a meeting with the guarantors and
that this would not mean negotiating all the headings with the guarantors.

[04] Elcil accuses Eroglu of representing Ankara's interests at the
negotiating table and calls on him to resign

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (24.07.14) reports that Sener
Elcil, general secretary of the Turkish Cypriot primary school teachers'
trade union (KTOS), has criticized the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis
Eroglu for the statement he had made to BBC's Turkish Service and called
on him to resign. Elcil accused Eroglu of exerting efforts for the
non-solution at the negotiating table and of defending the interests of
Turkey and not the ones of the Turkish Cypriots. Elcil noted that "those
who act with Ankara's instructions lead Cyprus towards the permanent
division and not towards unification".

He argued: "The statements made by the officials from Turkey and
their collaborators in North Cyprus within the framework of 20 July
celebrations, have once more shown that the real intention is not the
solution and the reunification of our island. Especially the continuous
repetition of the emphasis on two peoples, two states reaffirmed that
the intention of dividing our island continues. The statement made by Mr
Eroglu to BBC's Turkish Service and published in our press is a complete
exemplary document. Mr Eroglu continues to reject the rights gained by
the Turkish Cypriots internationally and says that he is against the
use of these rights. With the contradictory statements he made, he even
rejects the existing citizenship rights of the Turkish Cypriots in the
Republic of Cyprus and he is even able to say that the Turkish Cypriots
are not citizens of the Republic of Cyprus?"

Turkish Cypriot daily Diyalog newspaper (24.07.14) reports on statements
by the former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat who evaluated to
a televised program broadcast by illegal BRT the Cyprus problem together
with other issues.

On the Cyprus problem, Talat alleged that the "15th of July coup d' etat",
as well as the "20th of July peace operation", as he called the Turkish
invasion in Cyprus, have brought the Cyprus problem in a new phase,
that is, as he said, the consensus for looking to an agreement on the
basis of a federation.

Stating that the negotiations on the Cyprus problem all these years
yielded no result, Talat reiterated his view that if the Turkish Cypriot
side does the necessary for the solution, there will be a progress and
added that the Turkish Cypriot side's leadership on the solution has
been reduced. "This match will not end in a draw", and this status quo
will not be permanent and thus it must change", Talat said.

Recalling the five-step proposal submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side
to the Greek Cypriot side and a three-step proposal which has also been
submitted before, Talat underlined that "what is more essential, is the
existence of political will".

Stating that it would be wrong to proceed to a referendum since no
convergences were reached, Talat said that it is important for the sides
to reach to an agreement first and then go to a referendum.

Referring to the issue of the maps, Talat supported that the discussion
on maps would cause bigger discomfort than the property issue, adding
that the Greek Cypriot side utilizes this.

(AK)

[06] Afrika reports that Atalay will pay an illegal visit to the breakaway
regime tomorrow to gather votes for Erdogan

The paper argues that the aim of Atalay's visit is to gather votes for
the forthcoming presidential elections in Turkey, adding that Atalay
is said to launch a campaign in the breakaway regime in favour of the
Turkish Prime Minister and candidate for the presidential elections,
Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (24.07.14) reports that the visit
of the so-called minister of environment and natural resources Hamit
Bakirci in Marseille, France, upon an invitation of a French company,
stirs reactions in the breakaway regime due to the secrecy kept about the
"minister's" visit.

The paper writes that Bakirci is visiting Marseille, heading a delegation
consisting of his "ministry's officials", the director of "geology and
mine department" Mustafa Avkaravli and representatives of specialized
companies from Turkey and the breakaway regime. The visit is not
considered to be an "official" one and is kept under secrecy regarding
its aims.

According to a statement made by Bakirci's spokesman, the self-styled
minister was invited by a French businessman and is visiting France in
order to do examination on the issue of a stone quarry rehabilitation. The
name of the French company is not mentioned. Citing information, the
paper writes that the company, who covers the expenses of Bakirci and
his delegation visit, is said to be the one that is responsible for the
lime stone quarry in occupied Gastria village.

According to illegal Bayrak television (online, 24.07.14), the German
Ambassador to Cyprus Gabriella Guellil, whose term in Cyprus has come
to an end, paid a farewell visit to the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis
Eroglu on Wednesday morning.

Under the title "Century's Project' for transporting water to Cyprus to be
completed in September: AKP", Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online,
24.07.14) reports that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has
said that the pipeline project that will transport water from Turkey to
"northern Cyprus" (editor's note: the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus) via tunnels under the Mediterranean Sea will be completed shortly.

The AKP's Ihsan Sener, who is in charge of promotion and media affairs,
stated that the party expected the pipeline project to be completed and
inaugurated in September, in his written statement on July 23.

The project, dubbed "The Century's Project," intends to provide water
from the Anamur Alakopru Dam to northern Cyprus, according to a written
statement by Sener released on July 23.

The project was discussed during President Abdullah Gul's illegal visit
to the occupied part of Nicosia on July 20, during which he attended a
ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of Turkey's military invasion on
the island in 1974.

During the ceremony, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said they
expected to see the completion of "The Century's Project" soon.

Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 24.07.14) reports that Turkey
has been working behind the scenes to bring a cessation to hostilities to
the conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, leaning on the Hamas leader
to agree to a truce pending negotiations on a more thorough settlement,
before the Palestinian group rejected the latest bid.

In a visit to Ankara last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convince Hamas'
Khaled Mashaal to accept an immediate cease-fire deal with Israel,
Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Nabil Maarouf told the paper on July
23. Maarouf added that Erdogan discussed the matter with Mashaal by
phone on the same night.

A Turkish official told the Daily News that Turkey was "continuing
efforts within the framework set by Abbas."

Asked if Mashaal failed to agree to the deal despite Erdogan's call,
Maarouf said: "I can't say that they could not convince him, but what I
can say is that Turkish leaders believe that we have to stop the killing
of the Palestinians and then negotiate the terms."

Following Erdogan's phone call and the special envoy's visit to Mashaal,
Abbas visited Doha over the weekend and met Qatari officials and the
Hamas leader, but failed to reach a final decision.

"Mashaal made a statement [to the effect] that we understand what
President Abbas is doing and we appreciate it, but we did not give him
an immediate answer. This means that they are studying the proposal
about a cease-fire," he added.

The ambassador also denied that Turkey "sabotaged" the cease-fire
initiatives, as claimed by Israel.

"I am sure the Israelis don't want Turkey to be in the picture. They
don't mind if the Qataris interfere with the Egyptians, but they prefer
not to see the Turks in the process," Maarouf said.

"Before the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey had good relations
with Israel. Turkey was always talking about being a facilitator,
a meditator. Turkey tried many times. It's good for us if we have a
brotherly country that exerts pressure on Israel, but the facts are that
Israel will never fall under any pressure apart from the U.S. because
they are sure the U.S. is 100% or more with them," he added.

Hours after Maarouf's statement, Hamas rejected a ceasefire with Israel
unless the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted. "We reject today... and
will reject in the future" a ceasefire before negotiations on Hamas'
demands, which include lifting years of blockade against the Palestinian
enclave, Hamas chief Meshaal told reporters in Doha late July 23.

[11] PACE delegation express concern about the fairness in the
Presidential election in Turkey

Turkish daily Today's Zaman newspaper (23.07.14) reported that a
delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
has expressed concern about election fairness following talks it held
recently in Ankara regarding the upcoming Presidential election process.

The six-member PACE delegation was in Ankara from July 21-22 for a visit
ahead of the Presidential election on August 10.

Five members of the PACE delegation, representing each of the political
groups within PACE, along with a rapporteur of the assembly's monitoring
committee, held talks in the capital at the beginning of the week
with journalists, NGOs and representatives of the three Presidential
candidates, among other parties, to assess the electoral framework
and campaign.

During its visit the delegation also met with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,
joint Presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and
the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Yalcin Akdogan, chief advisor to
the Prime Minister, and Nazmi Gur, representative of Selahattin Demirtas,
the Presidential candidate of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), about
the election process. The delegation also had talks with the chairmen
of the Supreme Election Board (YSK) and the Radio and Television Supreme
Council (RTUK).

The delegation released a statement on Thursday on the PACE
website, saying: "[The delegation] reiterates its concerns about
the shortcomings in the regulations concerning campaign expenditure,
misuse of administrative resources by one candidate and unbalanced media
coverage." Although welcoming a step taken to regulate funding of the
election campaign, including limitations on individual donations, the
delegation said in its statement that "it would be necessary to reinforce
the legislation by introducing a ceiling for campaign expenditures to
enable proper monitoring of the spending of the funds, and to ensure
the same opportunities for all candidates."

The delegation also drew attention to the weaknesses of the current
monitoring mechanism of the election campaign accounts of presidential
candidates, saying: "The legislation should be fine-tuned to clarify
the role of political parties, the issue of in-kind contributions and
personal resources of candidates."

The fairness of the presidential election is overshadowed by the fact
that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is running for President
as the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
has been conducting his campaign without resigning from office.

Erdogan's candidacy is one of the issues dealt with in the PACE
delegation's statement. Although the statement said Erdogan was not
required by law to resign, the delegation expressed concern, saying
the administrative means available to Erdogan as Prime Minister would
give him disproportionate access to resources and media coverage, in
the absence of strict regulations. Use of administrative resources by
candidates is normally forbidden in law.

"The issue of misuse of administrative resources was raised on several
occasions during the meetings. The delegation therefore called upon the
authorities to adopt clearer and stricter regulations related to the
activities carried out by incumbent politicians standing in Presidential
elections," the statement said.

Opposition parties have much criticized the presidential candidate of
the ruling party for enjoying more airtime than the other candidates on
the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).

Unbalanced media coverage in favour of Erdogan during the election
campaign, for which he has also been much criticized by the opposition,
is another point the PACE delegation drew attention to, as a matter that
needs to be actively taken care of.

Noting that all broadcasters, including the TRT, are required to ensure
impartial and equal media coverage of the campaign, PACE's statement
continued: "The delegation regretted the lack of a timely response by
state institutions to redress unbalanced media coverage during the
campaign, which occurred despite the existing legal provisions. The
delegation calls upon all stakeholders, in particular the RTUK and the
YSK, to be more efficient in applying the law and using the measures
foreseen in the legislation, and to ensure equal airtime to all
candidates."

(?)

The PACE delegation further revealed that it had concerns about the
fairness of elections in Turkey, saying: "The introduction of a clear
legal provision accrediting domestic and international observers during
future elections would further increase the transparency of and confidence
in the election process as a whole. Observers should be able to freely
observe all steps of the electoral process (voting, counting, drafting
and tabulation of the votes)."

A full delegation of 30 PACE observers will return to Turkey to observe
the August 10 election.

According to news portal World Bulletin (online, 24.07.14), Turkey's
Constitutional Court has turned down an appeal from opposition parties
objecting to the candidacy of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in
the presidential election.

The Republican People's Party and the Liberal Democratic Party filed
independent claims that Erdogan should step down as Prime Minister if
he is to run for President.

The court ruled on Wednesday that there was a "lack of jurisdiction over
the person" in the claims, allowing Erdogan to stay in office for the
duration of the presidential campaign.

[13] The Felicity Party in Turkey will not support any of the candidates

According to Turkish daily Sabah (online, 24.07.14), the leader of
Turkey's Felicity Party (SP) Mustafa Kamalak announced that they will
not support any of the candidates in the upcoming presidential elections
that will be held on August 10.

He said: "This decision was taken after consultations within party
members and all party organizations. If the President is not elected in
the first round, we will reconsider our decision for the second round".
TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION